Rud Turnbull

Rud Turnbull's soul transitioned on Monday, March 17 at 11:35p at the age of 87. He was loved through to the end by his daughters, his wife and larger community. Rud was a tireless advocate for disabled people and their families. He worked at the Institute (later School) of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1969-1980 and was a Professor of Special Education and Law at the University of Kansas from 1980-2014. With his wife, Ann Turnbull, he co-founded and co-administered the Beach Center, an internationally recognized research center focusing on disability and family. He was a much-respected professor and guided hundreds of graduate students through their paces with one of his favorite mottos: "Before the gates of excellence, the high gods have placed sweat." He retired as a Distinguished Professor from the University of Kansas in 2014. Rud was raised in Bronxville, NY and attended Kent School before moving onto to earning a B.A. at Johns Hopkins University, an Ll.B/J.D. from the University of Maryland Law School and an Ll.M. from Harvard Law School. Rud was a major contributor to a larger movement of creating more civil rights for disabled people. He wrote over 350 peer-reviewed books, articles, chapters and technical reports in twenty different areas of public policy and disabilities. He testified as an expert witness in Congress nearly a dozen times.

He was the principal draftsman of the Federal Assistive Technology Act, the Federal Family Support Act, North Carolina disability law and Kansas disability law. He was a co-draftsman of the Individuals with Disabilities Act. He held many positions of leadership in the field including President of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Chairman of the Board of the Judge David L. Bazelon Center, Chairman of the Commission of Disability for the American Bar Association and national Secretary of The Arc, the country's primary advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

He received innumerable awards from these professional associations and others. Rud and Ann were both selected by a consortium of seven national disability organizations at the turn of the century as 2 of the 36 people worldwide who "changed the course of history for people with intellectual and developmental disables in the 20th Century." His most precious role was as husband, father, and grandfather. He was led to disability advocacy work through the birth of his son, Jay Turnbull, who had autism, an intellectual disability and bipolar disorder. Rud fought for and dearly loved Jay who died in January 2009. His wife, Ann Turnbull, was his partner in advocacy and partner in love. After working all week together at the Beach Center in their offices right next door to each other, their favorite thing to do on Friday night was to have a date with each other at their favorite table at their favorite restaurant. Their love was one for the ages.

Rud was a dedicated, present and loving parent to his two daughters, Amy and Kate. Over the years he told magical bedtime stories, had sing-alongs in the car, helped with term papers and shared his love of art and literature. He delighted in his role as grandparent. His grandchildren called him "Old Bull" and he loved making jokes about bodily noises and recreating those precious bedtime stories.

Services will be held at Chapel in the Pines in Chapel Hill, NC at 2:00 pm on Saturday, March 29. A livestream will be available on their website. An additional celebration will be held 2:00 ~ 4:30 pm, Saturday, July 19, 2025, at Cider Gallery, 810 Pennsylvania Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to The Arc to support their national advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To support locally, please consider donating to the Chapel in the Pines in support of their Mission and Services Committee, particularly their work with disabled community members.

He is survived by his wife, Ann Turnbull, his daughter Amy Khare, his son-in-law Rahul Khare, his grandchildren Dylan Khare, Maya Khare and Cameron Khare, his daughter Kate Turnbull and his son-in-law Chip Brookes.

One final note: Rud was unaware in the last month of his life of the terrifying plans to dismantle the Department of Education which would cause searing harm to disabled people and their families. We can only imagine he would leave us with the following marching orders: RAISE HELL.